Australian Businesses Urged To Grab Investment Opportunities In Malaysia, ASEAN

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Australian businesses have been urged to seize investment opportunities in the digital sector in Malaysia and other ASEAN member nations. Making the call, Ministry of Finance Secretary-General Irwan Siregar Abdullah said Malaysia and other ASEAN countries need to cooperate with every country globally to constantly move forward in the fast-changing digital economy. "Things are always changing and we need to promote the new thinking process to understand what the world population trends and needs are so that we can create a healthy economic ecosystem," he told reporters. Irwan Siregar was speaking after a special presentation on 'Malaysia's Economic Ecosystem: Incubating Entrepreneurs for Regional Growth' at the Australian Business Asia Conference here Thursday. He said in supporting new start-ups, the government must create a conducive environment by providing guidance and financial assistance to young entrepreneurs with great potential, as they do not have any experience or track record. "That is why the government put US$47.01 million (RM200 million) in Syarikat Jaminan Pembiayaan Perniagaan Bhd (SJPP) for the 2017 Budget to help them (start-ups). "Similarly for the banks and other financial institutions, they should evaluate differently and do things in a different manner. This is the new way of doing business," said Irwan Siregar. On the US Presidential election, he expressed hope Donald Trump would not carry out things that he said in his election campaign. "I hope the US will open up and won't do what he (Trump) said during the election campaign on immigration laws and so on. "We do not want this after the United Kingdom's pullout from Europe. We hope the US will also concentrate on the world as we need everyone to play a role in trade to nurture the ecosystem," he added. -- BERNAMA